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"Smokescreen. Followed by Work Up."
Li Xiang's calm voice rang out.
Gong Xu's smile stiffened slightly.
Work Up, a Normal-type status move that raised both Attack and Special Attack.
For Greninja, it was the only move that could boost its offensive power.
In the games, it might seem lackluster, but for Greninja, as long as it could hide and use it multiple times, it was practically no different from moves like Nasty Plot or Swords Dance.
Pale gray smoke billowed out once again, obscuring Umbreon's line of sight.
'Is this the end?'
Gong Xu hadn't expected the final moments to arrive so quickly.
But as the saying goes, heaven never seals off all exits.
It had been mentioned long ago that Greninja couldn't conceal energy once it left its body.
When it used Work Up, the red glow it produced would also leak out, revealing its silhouette.
That was why it needed Smokescreen to mask it.
However, the smoke couldn't completely block the light. Thus, the moment the red glow flickered, Gong Xu and Umbreon both keenly detected Greninja's position!
'Got you!'
"Yawn!"
Since Greninja had used Work Up, it was now a Normal-type.
Might as well put it to sleep with Yawn and then take their time finding it.
"Oooowoo!"
Umbreon opened its mouth wide and let out a big yawn. A wisp of drowsy mist drifted from its mouth before dissipating into the air.
An inexplicable force shot forward, vanishing into the smoke.
The red glow dimmed.
'Did it hit?!'
Gong Xu's heart raced with excitement, and his smile brightened. But with the thick smoke still swirling, he couldn't tell for sure whether the Yawn had taken effect.
Just as he was about to investigate, the red glow flared up again in the distance.
The Yawn had failed.
Otherwise, Greninja wouldn't have been able to use Work Up a second time.
'Why?'
Gong Xu knew the battle was as good as over—there was no stopping Greninja now.
But he still couldn't figure out why Yawn had missed.
Had Greninja forcibly interrupted its own Work Up to instantly use Protect?
'Impossible.'
After some thought, Gong Xu could only come up with one explanation.
Substitute.
Only this move (or Safeguard) could cause Yawn to fail.
'When did it use Substitute? Where's the Substitute hiding?
Did it use Camouflage alongside its real body? Did the Substitute use a move?'
Countless questions swirled in Gong Xu's mind. But soon, his attention was drawn back by the reappearance of multiple Greninja clones.
Each one held a massive, dazzling pink energy sphere in its hands, raised high like miniature suns, before hurling them straight at Umbreon!
Umbreon activated Protect, raising a green shield in front of itself.
The pink spheres dissipated upon contact with the barrier, but hidden among them was a single figure that charged recklessly at the shield!
"It's fake! Ignore it! The real one is the last one!"
Gong Xu's eyes gleamed. He knew Greninja was trying to bait Umbreon's shield.
Following his command, Umbreon swiftly dodged the charging figure and redirected its shield toward the lone Greninja that had lagged behind.
Sure enough. The real energy sphere was behind the Substitute.
The Substitute, having missed its target, stood motionless.
Meanwhile, the energy sphere exploded the moment it touched the green shield!
Fairy-type energy erupted, washing over the surroundings, but its impact was completely absorbed by the barrier—Umbreon remained unharmed.
'Prediction correct!'
Gong Xu grinned.
Now that Greninja's real body had been exposed, even if they only had one shot left, the battle wasn't over yet!
"Yawn!"
He shouted.
Umbreon unleashed another Yawn toward Greninja in the distance.
On the other side....
Seeing this, Li Xiang sighed, completely unruffled. Instead, he muttered in a strange tone, "Outsmarted by your own cleverness."
At that moment, the ignored "Substitute" moved.
Right as Umbreon was mid-Yawn.
Under Gong Xu's stunned gaze, it lunged forward, fist glowing with a reddish-brown light, and smashed straight into Umbreon's skull!
BOOM!
The ground cracked!
The sheer force of a Work Up boosted Power-Up Punch drove Umbreon's head straight into the dirt!
Despite its willpower, Umbreon couldn't fight its body's natural reaction—its head spun, limbs flailing weakly.
And then, Greninja's second Power-Up Punch followed.
BOOM!
Another punch buried Umbreon's head even deeper.
This strike caused the previously struggling Umbreon to go completely limp, its limbs twitching sporadically like a reflex.
Clearly, it had fainted.
Two Power-Up Punches. A tanky Umbreon—taken down.
"Ninja..."
Greninja pulled back its slightly smoking fist, blowing on it casually before turning its crimson eyes toward Gong Xu.
Under its gaze, Gong Xu gulped involuntarily.
'S-Scary…'
The thought crept into his mind despite himself.
A second later, Greninja vanished into thin air. The match was officially over.
After taking the wooden token from Gong Xu and rejecting his offer for a rematch with Drifblim, Li Xiang and Song Jie left the trio behind, heading toward the western rest area.
It was almost noon.
If they battled along the way, they should reach it before getting too hungry.
As for Gong Xu? Li Xiang had lost interest.
Of his three starting Pokémon, Umbreon had been taken out by him, and Dusclops by Song Jie.
That left only Drifblim—might as well let Gong Xu keep it.
In this kind of competition, picking off weaker opponents to collect more tokens was the smarter play. What could Gong Xu even offer him in terms of tokens at this point?
As for Gong Xu's earlier bold claims… they could talk about that if they ended up at the same school.
Right now, they were still competitors.
But as they walked, Song Jie suddenly asked Li Xiang if he'd be happy to have a strong trainer like Gong Xu supporting him.
"Happy? Why would I be happy about him supporting me? You could support me too. Besides, I could also be supporting you in return—my Riolu's amazing, are you looking down on it?"
Li Xiang raised an eyebrow before reaching out to jokingly strangle Song Jie.
Song Jie laughed, dodging Li Xiang's playful attack with a few steps back, waving his hands to indicate he was just asking casually.
"What's there to ask?"
Li Xiang clasped his hands behind his head, gazing at the clouds. "I haven't even decided where I'm going yet. The chances of him ending up at the same school as me are basically zero."
Hearing this, Song Jie looked surprised. "You haven't decided? I always thought you'd already made up your mind."
"Nope. Even though I keep saying I'm aiming for a top-tier academy, I really haven't settled on one yet."
Li Xiang waved a hand before grinning. "With my skills, I can pretty much pick wherever I want, right? So I'm kinda lost."
The slightly boastful remark was meant to amuse Song Jie. But instead, Song Jie nodded seriously, falling into thought. "That's true…"
"Alright, alright, have you decided where you're going?"
Li Xiang cut him off. There was a difference between him joking about himself and someone else earnestly hyping him up.
Praise from others just made him awkward.
"Me?" Song Jie pointed at himself. "Barring any surprises, probably Tiandu or Mo Du."
(Note: Modu/Mo Du is a fictional counterpart to Shanghai's nickname in our world. To keep it simple, I'll just use Shanghai instead.)
Last year, the three schools that advanced to the youth Junior World Tournament were Tiandu, Shen Island, and Shanghai.
Now, they were considered championship contenders.
The final Youth/Junior World Tournament would be held in April, in the spring. For Song Jie to aim for these elite schools was only natural.
Some might say it's better to be a big fish in a small pond, but that wasn't his style.
Besides, whether he'd even be a "small fish" was still up in the air.
"Shanghai, huh…"
Hearing the name, Li Xiang felt an odd sense of familiarity wash over him. But this world's "Shanghai" wasn't the same as the one from his past life.
It was an ancient landmass that had once been an island before geological shifts connected it to the mainland.
"Then I'll just follow you."
Li Xiang turned to Song Jie. "Wherever you go, I'll go. We can be each others support in doubles."
Song Jie blinked. "You're serious?"
"Would you rather face me in the global tournament? I'd rather be teammates."
Li Xiang shrugged.
The white-haired boy stared at him, his expression briefly complicated.
A few seconds later, he nodded firmly. "Alright. Teammates it is."
And so, the two demon kings bulldozed their way to the western rest area, crushing all opposition in their path.
Coincidentally, they found Yang Tianwang inside, sitting alone. The guy was eating lunch, flipping through a magazine.
His usual partner, Qu Sheng, was nowhere to be seen.
"Well, well. If it isn't what's-his-name."
Li Xiang sneaked up, tapping the table with a grin.
Yang Tianwang looked up, his face lighting up at the sight of Li Xiang and Song Jie. "Finally, some familiar faces! I've been wandering alone all morning."
"Should've planned a meetup spot beforehand."
Li Xiang rolled his eyes. "So? How many tokens? Hit twenty yet?"
Yang Tianwang's proud expression immediately deflated. "Twenty? You think my Pokémon are perpetual motion machines or something?"
He held up his collection. "Fifteen, not counting my own. That's pretty good for just noon, okay?"
"Sorry to break it to you, but I'm about to hit thirty."
Li Xiang smirked.
"People should compare themselves to people, not monsters like you."
Yang Tianwang scoffed. He was long used to Li Xiang's absurd achievements.
If Li Xiang hadn't been dominating, that would've been weird.
"Oho, throwing shade now, are we?"
Li Xiang raised an eyebrow before plopping down next to Yang Tianwang. "Run into any tough opponents? Strong ones? I'll avenge you."
"Oh, absolutely. The only match I lost was to some girl named Lü Yi."
Yang Tianwang launched into a rant about how ridiculously strong Lü Yi was.
"Don't worry."
Li Xiang patted his shoulder. "I'll get your revenge."
If he could take down Gong Xu, Lü Yi would be a breeze.